The Terrifying Life Cycle of the Mind Flayer | Illithid Biology Explained

[@ThoughtPotato]

Download Opera web browser and start *enjoying* your time online! opr.as/Opera-browser-Thought-Potato

[@Yenaldooshi138]

Did you study biochemistry or are you just good at research and bullshitting your way around a topic ? Cuz either one is impressive af. What an amazing idea for a KZbin series

[@aaroniscool7521]

You've officially become an Illithid now

[@thedango6890]

Love the subplot to the narration and the subtle hintz throughout, and the delectable sound textures especially at the end such a delightful video. Well done again this is in my all time favorites of this channel

[@america2793]

Can you do the legendary “xenomorph”?

[@akiradkcn]

Sorry, I dont want chinese spyware in my devices

[@dreadthemadsmith]

The slowly referring to ilithid things to "we" and "our" was a nice touch.

[@equarg]

😳….OMG, your right.

[@itsneverfutile]

Came here to say exactly this!

[@AC-hj9tv]

Oh shit

[@Celeste-jh2lj]

I noticed that too! I thought it was pretty clever

[@JacobTyo]

20:52 he refers other creatures as “lesser”. This felt a little out of character, being spoken from the perspective of a biologist.

[@jennyfeare1702]

"Keep an open mind" Sounds like something a Mind Flayer would say, nice try!

[@Breifcaseguy1]

And then proceeds with advertisement anaesthetic. Wasn't long until the word predatory showed up. You are what you eat.

[@ChrisKetcherside]

They are in cahoots with the athours of the monster manual!

[@ReabetsweMorake-go4cg]

L😂L!!! They aren't called mindflayers for nothing.

[@Stargazer01011]

Thanks for this video! My girlfriend has just underwent total ceremorphosis to treat her chronic heart condition. Its been difficult to keep an open mind in our relationship. Thoughts and prayers to Helm are appreciated.

[@jeremysmith4620]

Thoughts and prayers. Hopefully your girl, once her tentacles have grown in, will love performing the cephalopod salad toss. Sure, it might sound a little weird if you've never tried it, but once you have 8 mouth tentacles just going to town down there you'll petty much have a seizure from the sheer ecstasy of the act being performed. Maybe she'll even ink on you when she finishes. I've had to replace a ton of bedsheets because of this, but it was well worth it. Lets just hope she was inhabited by a species that retains its mouth instead of it mutating into a beak. No one enjoys a beak job. Good luck on your journey.

[@AstaNozan]

​@@jeremysmith4620i dont know what to do with this (very vivid) information... ...except to-

[@Riley-zr1gn]

​@@jeremysmith4620you know you didnt have to say any of that... Right?

[@jeremysmith4620]

@@Riley-zr1gn There is nothing wrong with being ceremorphosis sex positive. The man should know there is no shame in being "ink curious." Let me guess, you don't even believe that people should be able to marry into the Cephalopoda family. It's 2023, stop being an anti-inking bigot. Love doesn't care how many mouth tentacles your partner has.

[@StellarCrackhead42]

​@@Riley-zr1gnOh he absolutely did

[@introspectiveseraphim6251]

Bravo! The increasing frequency of referring to mindflayer culture as "our" culture, as well as the stated urgency of video sections, the "very personal" experience with aspects of ceremorphosis, all culminating to the realization that it was not a person speaking at all... but a mindflayer the whole time. Brilliant video, love me that psychological horror xD

[@uncroppedsoop]

I don't think it was the whole time, but rather someone going _through_ the process

[@patrickohooliganpl]

@@uncroppedsoop Or just about to, being already psychologically dependent enough of their hive-mind psionic influence.

[@EEEEEEEE]

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎E

[@ChupacabraRex]

Hey, mindflayers count as people too!

[@Oooze3424]

This just in; local bio-alchemist gets turned into mindflayer, more at eleven.

[@bjorncorvin4568]

There has been a development: The local Bio-alchemist that has been turned into a Mindflayer has so far eaten 5 people, town guard are doing everything they can to stop him and the local Wizard is telling everyone in the region to stay inside at all times

[@lurklingX]

the "we" and "our" was so subtle i missed it before seeing that in the comments. (good job!) the thing that caught me when i first watched was the "i don't have much time." so i had the sense that someone got tadpole'd and that this was during that 7 days and running out of time being sentient. so i still had that sense of the change. and also, because how would certain things be known? like ilithids retaining a sense of self when they join the elder brain. stellar.

[@SlimeBlueMS]

He also has "very personal knowledge" of no point resisting after a certain point

[@SlimeBlueMS]

He can also start hearing their thoughts half-way through the video, lol

[@friccle_]

They also call brain matter delectable around the 21 minute mark

[@puggumpus]

DnD biology? This is truly a day for nerds all around the word

[@leninthebeaniesouhacker.2459]

Thank baldur's gate 3, if you played it and want something similar i recommend pathfinder wrath of the righteous and pathfinder kingmaker

[@christins.1481]

​@@leninthebeaniesouhacker.2459Baldur's Gate 3 is what got me interested actually because of how well it's...interactive. My best friend has been playing it, so I'm hoping I can jump on board by next year to play with her. Told her so we could be "interactive". She laughed and said that sounded romantic. LOL

[@aapelikananena9699]

​@@leninthebeaniesouhacker.2459i mean divinity is the same as balding gate but with better combat

[@leninthebeaniesouhacker.2459]

@@aapelikananena9699 can't play bg3 due to my weak pc so i can't give an opinion

[@TexasHollowEarth]

While I enjoy D&D, Donald Marshall info is why I'm here 👍

[@ahuman6901]

At 21:59 the narrator calls the elder brain “the center of our culture” and earlier in the video implies they need to get through the rest of the content quickly for some reason. I believe that they have either been forcibly infected with a tadpole or have consumed one, as they seem to be slowly slipping into acting as though they are a mind flayer with this line. Really cool story telling detail!

[@jasdanvm3845]

It's made even more clear at the end when he talks about keeping an open mind, or not keeping one at all.

[@patrickohooliganpl]

Or just before, but already under the strong psionic persuasion of the illithid hive mind to do so.

[@rebeccaconlon9743]

They mention about how long until no longer reversible

[@friccle_]

It gave me the idea that they willingly infected themselves to fully understand what changes in the host, their culture and why they do it, and this is just their final documentary before turning completely

[@Shea_J]

One thing I’ve always been slow about is the true self of the mindflayer. Is the parasite controlling the body like a pilot or does it just become a new brain?

[@gabrielbruce1977]

The consciousness remains, but we have no way to know if it's still in control. Emperor amd Omeluum are very much outliers.

[@DLWebb6245]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong please. But from what I understand it becomes part of the brain, consuming parts that control independent thought and consciousness, leaving the rest. So it becomes part-parasite part-normal brain, but fully illithid. There are illithids who have pieces of their personality left in lore, and fading glimpses of the past, but they're usually really powerful people who were able to resist the full takeover. Most are now a completely new person with a new mind.

[@SerifSansSerif]

Both. IT's a ship of theseus situation. It slowly/feeds on the brain while absorbing its thoughts and memories. It also takes over and changes the body at the same time. After it's done it's a mind flayer, but you also forget that the elder brain is like a overmind of the hive, suppressing any individualization, but at the same time, those that get far enough away from the elder brain tend to develop individuality, and sometimes show preferences or somatic tics that the person who was turned into a mindflayer had. So both.

[@droid88-b56]

Becomes the new brain entirely. There is no lingering spirit or echo of consciousness belonging to the original host, in most of all instances of ceremorphosis. The tadpole will be implanted, and over the course of a week it will feed upon the brain of the host, in quite a literal fashion. At MOST, in 99% of all cases of ceremorphosis, the newly born Mind Flayer will have partial flashes and shadows of memory from the host whose brain birthed it, but it's not them. A newly born Mind Flayer is its own person in its own right. They may have some of the memories of the body they inhabit, but those memories wouldn't be *their own*, they'd be the memories of "Steven the Half-Orc, the host from which I was birthed". It's like reading about the life of someone. You know what they experienced and what they did in life, but that doesn't make you them. The brain is gone, eaten. I'll quote from Volo's Guide to Monsters, which puts it in no uncertain terms: "A newly hatched tadpole is inserted into the victim's cranium, usually through a nostril or ear canal. The tadpole grows as it devours the humanoid's brain, attaching to the victim's brain stem and becoming its new brain. Over the course of a week, the humanoid body changes form, and a new mind flayer comes into being. The emergent mind flayer often retains a few dim memories from its previous form, but these vague recollections seldom have any bearing on its new life as a brain-eating monster." In some case, some very *rare* cases, the process goes awry. Either because the tadpole itself was damaged in some way, or because the host was extraordinary. Like with the Emperor in bg3. Their memories and maybe their soul or essence or some other outlier of a factor make it where ceremorphosis is more of an evolution of their form, rather than a loss of self, and they retain their identity. But this is a very rare case indeed. In saying that however, mind flayers aren't not people themselves. Each is an individual with their own goals, motivations, outlook on life. They are prone to feelings of superiority and ambition, but they aren't all alike. They are typically born into a colony under strict observation, and are taught and trained for the first decade or two of their life in a variety of Illithid-teachings. Each colony's Elder Brain strives to achieve the "Grand Design" of the Illithid race in its own unique way, generally. One Mind Flayer might find that the art of fencing and swordfighting is a good approach to reaching these ends, while another might find that actual visual art is also a strategy. Some mind flayers might be cruel to their thralls, others doting. Some mind flayers become renegades even, when their personal outlook misaligns too greatly with the Elder Brain whose hive mind they are a part of. They will either be killed and discarded, or run away and become a rogue Illithid. Away from the influence of the Elder Brain, they are free to explore their own individuality to a better extent. They may show the mannerisms of the host they originally came from, but not because the host is "still in there somewhere". It's just something they may do. Anyway tl;dr: the tadpole eats the entire brain and the host is gone and dead. The mind flayer is its own person, there's no trace of the host beyond vague memories and impressions.

[@greywolf9783]

@@SerifSansSerif so basically the mind flyer learns from the humanoid its feeding on but still must listen to the elder brain

[@Kirk9019]

The shift from "Illithid Society" to "Our Society" was slow and subtle enough to be both chilling and exhilarating. Well done. Easily my favourite video from you yet (yes I am biased as a long-time D&D player/nerd), and I've seen them all! Thanks again for all your hard work and research, these videos sre truly wonderful. PS. Your voice is so soothing that I can easily fall asleep to the videos I've seen multiple times. Thank you for that too.

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

[@josephogden4870]

The gradual transition from 3rd person to collective 1st person is a uniquely enthralling act of impressive writing. Well done, good sir! Well done!

[@sada1504]

The switch from "their" to "our" at 21:52 gave me chills

[@scottydu81]

I made an NPC for a campaign once and called him “The Reasonable Illithid”. He was a mind flayer who discovered mercantilism. Spices, textiles, books and scrolls from all corners of the world, and at prices that will drive you mad!

[@elmatasesues3630]

😆😆😆

[@scottydu81]

@@elmatasesues3630 Thank you! He’s my proudest creation!

[@Livan-yuruikami]

You juste gave me inspirations for my next playtrough thank you !

[@AC-hj9tv]

Lool cool

[@DareMurdok]

I like the idea of "unique" hive minded characters, who are outliers in their culture. While watching this I thought of an idea of a mind flayer character that was somewhat of a vigilante and feasted exclusively evil charactes, something like Lethal Protector Venom from Marvel.

[@yukitheangelicgearwing7147]

Is it just me, or did he consume at least a partial amount of a tadpole? He seems to have the ability to understand his 'subjects' and their telepathic neurogical sound waves. He couldn't have allowed one inside, not fully intact, he would not have had enough time to film this video. I have theory that he may have consumed some sort of syrum that only contains the neccessary DNA in order to gain this ability, but without the transformative particles, he cannot develop accute senses to reach the Elder Brain or understand those whispers fluently. (Yes I know this isn't real lmao It's a lore theory and I love lore!!)

[@SCP_Void_7274]

POTATO LOOOOOOOREEE

[@yukitheangelicgearwing7147]

@@SCP_Void_7274 What is more curious, is that, while working with 'subjects' of other species, which often involved viruses, Potato did not exhibit self-experimentative tendencies. He seems to have succumbed, at least partially, to the natural humanoid need for belonging to a 'community' of some way or form. Furthermore, due to the diet of specificly sentient organisms and inability to connect to a neurogically lesser body, it seems to be a sort of curse placed upon extremely curious and intelligent indiviguals among the already sentient population. Fairly curious, indeed. Perhaps Potato even... feels a kinship?

[@WereDictionary]

He also shifts towards phrases like "our society" when he explains the Elder Brain at the end. But its fine, dont worry about it. We're friendly, scout's honor.

[@yukitheangelicgearwing7147]

@@WereDictionary Oh I feel no fear. Curiousity plagues me honestly. I wonder, would it be possible to develop such a thing as a sapient evolution? For Potato to have become a Hafling, only amongst humans... Then again, he isn't alone in either sense, as many of us are in unity.

[@BlackReshiram]

the lore is the best part of these videos

[@hunterzx7741]

You call it a mind flayer, I call it an evil Squidward. We are not the same.

[@masonmachell683]

Lol

[@entity107]

No we are

[@DarkWarchieff]

Evil squidwards are pillagers.

[@Beepers559]

Then where’s evil Mr krabs?

[@jadeitor6280]

I call them husbando material

[@DraptorRonin]

I wonder how Ilithids would handle a host who’s brain has built up a bunch of Prions? Would Prion diseases cause unintended damage to them? Would they possibly undergo an epidemic of Chronic Wasting Disease?

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

Research done on the genetics of people who survived the kuru epidemic in Papua New Guinea despite consuming infected brain tissue indicates that certain mutations can increase a host's resistance to prions, resulting in a longer dormancy period before symptoms set in than those with the normal version of the gene, or in some cases no disease at all. Interestingly enough, it seems that the Fore people already had higher rates of the mutant version than the general populace, possibly as a lingering after effect of some other ancient prion epidemic from thousands of years ago. Considering their diet, it would make since for Mindflayers to have similar adaptations, but I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility that some populations might still be susceptible, or the possibility that some particularly unusual prion might be able to bypass their defenses. Could make for some interesting material to work with, as I get the feeling that Mindflayer society as a whole would probably view susceptible individuals with disdain, and see their deaths strictly as natural selection in action rather than trying to help them or prevent the disease's spread...

[@etherraichu]

Putting illithids into other things has... unfortunate results. Nobody is happy about it. They actually go into pretty extreme detail about this sort of thing in some of the older source books

[@MrNickPresley]

I assume they check for degenerative neural diseases in their food before feeding, and especially before starting a tadpole’s cerebromorphosis. They might actually be immune, but I doubt they’d risk it.

[@alphax4785]

I'd argue prion diseases would be a minor concern in a world where mystical healing granted by a pantheon of deities exists... unless of course the prion disease itself is either magically created or magically charged to destroy mind flayers in which case... big oof for the illithids incoming.

[@MrNickPresley]

@@alphax4785 See, that's why drow practice cannibalism and inbreeding. Only takes one of 'em with with Mad Elf Disease or a brain like mashed potatoes to destroy a mindflayer colony.

[@loremipsum303]

8:17 “indeed I have /very/ personally observed that beyond this timeframe, there is no point in resisting” excellent setup for the chilling realization later! I love how you can craft such a compelling story into the background of these videos!

[@housewilma4904]

also fun fact there are many unique situations ceremorphsis fails or alters slightly creating variants my favourite being gnome mindflayers. they are adorable tiny as gnomes with the same mischevious nature and there face tentacles are 1 third the length of proper mindflayers and have big round eyes. they make up for there physical weakness with even stronger psionic ablitys then the average mindflayer and LASER PISTOLS.

[@emilyolsen6777]

just looked them up, they're so cute, idk if I could take one seriously.

[@KS-PNW]

They were definitely cool but I always loved the Brain Stealer dragon. They were awesome! Had a campaign where we thought we'd be fighting an evil stone giant. Right before the fight started the DM gets and evil look on his face and describes a giant dragon with huge tentacles on its face swooping down and sucking out the giants brain in two turns. One of the most memorable game sessions I ever had 😃

[@Lucian_BlackRaven]

Funny thing you never talked about the other form of the larva stage where if it stays in the brine for a long time it would evolve into something worse and it could kill the entire mindflayer hive

[@Kirk9019]

Are you talking about a neolithid? The giant brain worms?

[@inural]

Yeah I was waiting for that too! I used it as a monster in my dnd session, truly a fearsome beast!

[@etherraichu]

Normally those would be absorbed by the elder brain.

[@karlfrogley1977]

He doesn’t mention the neolithid as he becoming an ilithid and neolithids are the shame and failure of a mind flayer society

[@tashibalampkin8555]

We don't want you to hurt us.

[@purplehaze2358]

Given the context of just, what illithids are, the double meaning of "keep an open mind" is honestly subtly genius.

[@serpentartist1348]

Oh my goodness, this might be one of my favourite episodes yet. Love the way you handled the psionic abilities, just enough information to feel like a unique take, yet leaving enough out to still have it feel mysterious, all whilst still fitting nicely into pre-existing D&D lore. Amazing work

[@chickensky1121]

One thing I find really fascinating about Mind Flayers is that their species' biology has so much potential to mutate into different forms like the Neothelid, and the Illithids themselves hate such abberations as much as any other race does, if not even more so. It seems to be a recurring theme amongst aberrations like Illithids and Beholders that they are exceedingly arrogant about their own superiority, as well as the superiority of their race, which lends itself perfectly to their disgust towards any sort of variation of their life cycle.

[@KlavierMenn]

Illithid tends to ceremorph other beings just to see what can happen. Beholders are a common target and the ceremorph form is called Mindwitness and are potent psionics on their own, but are used as relays for elder brains. Dragons aren't immune to ceremorphosis and the result is a Brainstealer Dragon

[@swordswinger395]

@@KlavierMenn their disgust mainly seems to revolve around whether or not they can control their subspecies, which is pretty on brand for a species whose entire culture revolves around a psychic dominance pecking order. Inferior or uncontrollable specimens are shunned or purged, but oddities that are useful and properly submit are kept around as servants.

[@felixjohnson3874]

It would be really cool to have a mass-effect esque story where a Mind Flayer hijacked a brilliant scientist and realized it would be possible to synthesize the proteins they need for sustenance and cloe artificial template hosts, thus letting them collaborate freely with other species and use their advanced knowledge and ability to sync information to be great military planners, traders, scientists, etc. and advance civilization. Of course, Flayer-Purist factions would take much issue with this as is, but it's only after they hear whispers of heretics trying to create blank-template tadpoles to transcribe other living consciousnesses onto that they cannot tolerate it any longer. I'm sorry but a psionic civil war of magic brain eating space squids with laser guns is just too fucking cool of an idea. Besides, humans are already pushing neural interfaces and cloning as-is, I feel like a species that can share knowledge with psionic links and form a comprehensive knowledge repository should be able to advance a bit faster than us.

[@TitaniaTerrestiaTinystar-yy5xg]

In some ways yes and in other ways no.

[@mprojekt72]

Did Thought Potato intentionally allow an illithid tadpole into his head?

[@ParkerOrosz]

He said "our" when talking about the elder brain

[@mprojekt72]

@@ParkerOrosz I have used "our" when RPing both an illithid and their colony's elder brain. So... yeah, that just makes it more icky.

[@yukitheangelicgearwing7147]

​@@mprojekt72At the very end, his voice changes lol It is my belief, for the lore, that he consumed about half a tadpole, aka the neccessary parts to connect to the Elder Brain and establish telepathic means. His tone of voice alters as he projects this ability, as his vocal cords are not biologically adapted at speaking and transmitting at the same time. The other manner in which he could have done this was to consume a tadpole from the nursery pool. (I looooveeee detailed biology.)

[@mprojekt72]

@@yukitheangelicgearwing7147 I have vague recollection of an antagonist in a campaign book, possibly for Planescape, with an addiction to munching on tadpoles in order strengthen their natural psionic powers. TP's lore-game is on point.

[@yukitheangelicgearwing7147]

@@mprojekt72 Curious how I, who is only interasted in lore of DnD instead of RPing it, had come to the same conclusion lmao Who knows, maybe we've all been eating tadpoles? (Major joke)

[@thedoruk6324]

Now *this* does justice to d&d's disturbing world setting

[@spacerogue3108]

Great work as always! It would be amazing if you did a video on the false hydra, a very fascinating and terrifying concept in my eyes

[@Kirk9019]

Not even a canon D&D monster and it's still one of the greats ❤

[@Parzivle]

It’s only a mindflayer if it originated in the mindflayer dimension, otherwise it’s just sparkling illithid

[@thehermitman822]

Damn. Sounds like the Elder Brain evolved to create an eternal buffet of it's young but of course they have to be planted and ripen first.

[@n.henzler50]

"A process known as ceremorphosis? It is to be avoided." (Dekarios p. 17) "Did you know they have tentacles? Quite shocking." (Geddarm et al p. 239)

[@samiam9202]

According to Elminster, their brains taste so good they'll drive you mad. Probably from personal experience.

[@OctavioBorgia]

give Tara some beholder snacks, she deserves it

[@BiblicallyAccurateSeraph]

Could you do Intellect Devourers next? Or Displacer Beasts?

[@jasper_the_ghost]

Fought a displacer beast just last night and I want to see this too because DAMN THAT THING WAS RIDICULOUS.

[@yogsathoth7960]

@@jasper_the_ghost a drop of lore about how they do it. apparently the don't use much magic to do it. is very weak illusion magic mixed with what's effectively a thin layer of muscles in every single part of the body including just under the skin. they rapidly flex the muscles (i have no idea why) while activating the illusion magic. very weird. and needs a better explanation.

[@rachelhughes8487]

I logged onto KZbin fully intending to watch this week's creator commentary for Dragonball Z Abridged. I saw this video on my front page I didn't even hesitate for a second and clicked this instead. 7 years ago, the final boss of one of my first ever D&D campaigns was a mindflayer. I also have 400 hours in Baldur's Gate 3. So this especially fascinates me.

[@MultiCommissar]

One of the NPCs I once wrote up was an Illithid who called himself "Throdevor The Sated". He ate the brain of a powerful monk, gaining a flash of enlightenment so profound that he effectively gained Timeless Body, leaving Illithid society completely behind in pursuit of conquest over oneself.

[@Firestar-TV]

Didn't expect to see those in this Series. Would be interesting to see what you would do with the Harpy

[@nathanfleischman9856]

This is not a Cryptobiology episode.

[@Firestar-TV]

@@nathanfleischman9856 pretty similar though

[@nathanfleischman9856]

@@Firestar-TV So are most of the videos on this channel.

[@trishapellis]

@@nathanfleischman9856 There seem to be quite a few videos on the list (now, at least) that treat mythological creatures *as* cryptozoids - mermaids, sirens and the qaalupalik, vampires, werewolves and strigoi, and the wendigo. I personally like how this channel is blurring the lines between the two. After all, why would Mothman be in a different category from the wendigo? And sirens and vampires are just the mothmen of old. For each of these creatures, there were people once upon a time who swore they were real and they'd seen one.

[@aisar3353]

The narrator ascending to an ilithid slowly was a perfect touch, in the end, who wouldn't want to evolve?

[@mynameisd2849]

Fun fact, if the tadpole is allowed to keep growing withoout being inserted into a host, it will become a giant worm-like creature imune to psionics that eats mindflayer colonies

[@miscellaneous7777]

Is that the only thing they will eat?

[@mynameisd2849]

@@miscellaneous7777 yes, only elder brains

[@miscellaneous7777]

@@mynameisd2849 then why are humans not abducting sum of those worms and raise them with that purpose in mind?

[@miscellaneous7777]

@@mynameisd2849 then why aren’t people abducting sum worms and raise them for that purpose?

[@mynameisd2849]

@@miscellaneous7777 they are still dangerous and will destroy everything in their path, they are also one of the best kept secrets in the world so almos no one knows and the ones who do dont care

[@L1qu1d-2qu1d]

Don’t know if he brings it up but look up “Elder Brain Dragon” it’s genuinely terrifying and can be described as a mobile Illithid factory. Originally I thought this was just a homebrew monster but have discovered not only is it official but it has stats Which means if you’re insane enough, you can fight it

[@KlavierMenn]

Yes, Brainstealer dragon. However I have found something worse: An Abolithid. Yes, you read it right. an Aboleth Ilithid.

[@alysonjadlocki2626]

​@KlavierMenn No no... the brainstealer Is just a dragon infected with a tadpole. And elder brain dragon is much worse. The whole elder brain gets put into a adult or larger dragon, creating a mobile leader for the colony and tentacled draconic aberration with a brine and tadpole breath weapon.

[@L1qu1d-2qu1d]

@@alysonjadlocki2626 it’s genuinely terrifying

[@No1fan15]

I love the subtle swap to "our" culture towards the end

[@anablackwood6141]

I recently discovered your videos and I love stuff like supernatural/fantasy biology. I was wondering if you would consider doing some videos on the following: SCP's (I'm personally a big fan of 049, the "Plague Doctor"), Audrey II (Little Shop of Horrors), some of the aliens from Animorphs, Xenomorphs (Alien) and maybe even ghosts if you can figure out how that might be theoretically possible. I know that's a big list and these probably take a ton of research along with the time spent actually creating/editing but I'll hold out hope that maybe one of these will make it into your channel :D Thank you for giving my mind something else to think about during this very difficult phase of my life.

[@tenkai706]

Me 160 hours deep into baldurs gate 3: "I've got a lot on my mind... and we'll, it in it.. heh heh"

[@danielthecake8617]

We will, it in it... heh heh

[@danielthecake8617]

Wth are you yapping about?

[@anything8805]

I wonder if you could one day cover the biology of how to train your dragon

[@YaBoiNicho]

I second that!

[@anablackwood6141]

I love that idea!

[@caitlinxo]

i’d love to see that!

[@MotherTiamatTriclaw]

PLEASE!! Please do Displacer Beasts!! I love your channel and I have literally dropped everything I was doing every time you upload a new episode!! You have such a FACINATING way of breaking down things on scientific levels, I LOVE it!!!

[@daniell1483]

Fantastic analysis. The only thing missing is those unique Mind Flayers that resist the local Elder Brain, which then goes off to establish its own colony (with itself as the future Elder Brain of the colony).

[@Geordiecrafts]

As someone who did their thesis in physiology, I loved this so much haha

[@zebzero1348]

i love stuff about the illithids so it makes me really happy to see one of my fav speculative biology youtubers talk about them

[@davidfletcher6703]

Nice touch with the closing monologue, the changing and distortion of the voice

[@dragon200ism]

I think a sequal video would be great. Things like the Neothilid and orher Ceramophosis subjects.

[@Chaos-Devil51]

I never expected this but damn am I happy for it.

[@BnuuyBunVR]

Got tadpole-d by a Mind Flayer on their ship, then I broke out, crashed the ship and now I'm on an adventure to baldur's gate with a racist, another racist, the rizzard of oz who threatens to blow himself up over rejection, a hot tiefling woman and a guy who got turned into a tiefling cuz his sugar mommy wasn't happy with him, oh as well as a vampire spawn who keeps munching on me through out the night. lets hope we can get cured before we become Mind Flayers !! Wish me luck guys

[@thehiddencryptid]

You too, huh?

[@EldritchTeacup]

Right@@thehiddencryptid ? Same old story with new faces

[@BnuuyBunVR]

@@EldritchTeacup damn, everyone rlly out here getting snatched up?? they take anyone these days, my gf got taken the other day too

[@zeuel]

"lets hope we can get cured before we become Mind Flayers !!" Speak for yourself! 🤤👾

[@cjthebeesknees]

The rizzard of Oz just took me out.

[@daxon5203]

This happened to my uncle a few years back, I’m glad people are starting to learn more about ceremorphosis, it’s tragic

[@spellelf]

I love D&D. I have a cabal in my campaign that are basically orchestrating everything behind the scenes.

[@Christopher-sk7rb]

I think that if you'd make a video about Xenomorphs it would be EXTREMELY COOL!!

[@Toy_Tomb]

This is such a genuinely awesome video, I’ve loved mindflayers for a while and in all the digging I’ve done I’ve never seen someone explain what body chemicals and processes actually turn a humanoid into an illithid. edit: and the plot of this video was genuinely A1, I’d like to be first in line to hear what your large brain friend has to offer

[@khorrusvoa]

I've got nothing to say except that this was very well-done! The twist was slow and steady, making it even more unsettling at the end.

[@laurafrakinroslin]

I think this is your best work. It’s just good storytelling. I’ve listened to it 3 times in two days.

[@shunclark596]

these are too well made to be coming out so close together, crazy work ethic

[@darkranger116]

One of my favorite D&D characters i ever made was a hobgoblin monk from a volcano fire temple who got infected by an illithid from the underdark caverns below the mountain. He secluded himself in his room for the entire transformation process because he thought it was his god using pain to connect to his mind. The ilithid "child" actually ended up fusing with his soul and instead of the One dying and being replaced, they became Two. They were only *slightly* schizophrenic, but they could also fist fight a red dragon into submission by themselves.

[@537h]

I appreciate your concise and direct informative style, not to mention your first-person narrative. Well done!

[@josephthomas8714]

Based on the photo at 9:54, after a tadpole has attached itself to the brain it is only directly connected to the occipital and parietal lobes, possibly touching the cerebellum and motor cortex. Unless it is using some psychic ability to reach the rest of the brain, the unmatured illithid only has influence over the hosts ability to see and perceive space. If we are generous, it may also have limited influence over movement at this stage. This means the host is fully conscious and experiencing a progressive loss of autonomy starting with vision and motor function.

[@treacherousjslither6920]

Fuuug smh

[@algellish340]

no spoilers, but bg3 talks/shows a lot of this

[@kadoj]

Holy crap… I’m so excited. This is the addition to the thought potato library that I didn’t know I desperately needed, but definitely desperately needed.

[@calebchristensen900]

21:50 ….Doctor you didn’t…. What do you mean OUR culture???? Side note: I am far from the one to tell you what to do for this series, but I would be very curious as to how you would approach the "near-human" cryptids like Yeti, Alma, Sasquatch, Orang Pendek, and others similar to them, maybe a whole familial tree?

[@Spartan135]

👾👾👾

[@chloesibilla8199]

I love how a few of these lines imply that he was caught and transformed himself. From the way he describes how he personally witnessed these things and took great risks, how he insists we view this with an air of fascination rather than disgust and "I have very personality observed that beyond this timeframe,there is no point in resisting ".

[@chloesibilla8199]

Humming a tube? Beckoning?

[@chloesibilla8199]

Whispers? Finding it hard to speak?

[@chloesibilla8199]

Delectable

[@chloesibilla8199]

Our culture?

[@chloesibilla8199]

He keeps saying our

[@j.a.shawkins7640]

"-the centerpiece of our culture." Uh oh. Someone is NOT OK. ^_^; lol! And there went the spooky voiceover sound effects! XD Nice video, man! That was really cool!

[@Jdne199311]

I love the subtle change happening to you in the vid. very goood

[@zarnex_xiii]

Rip brave scientist who got infected and had the time to give us his stufy he will probably be missed

[@f1shb0nes72]

Aside from this just being a great video, I loved the slow reveal of the transformation, dropping all the subtle hints, made it that much more engaging. By far one of the most interesting videos I've watched ❤️❤️

[@TheSaneHatter]

My understanding of D&D lore must be weaker than I thought: a lot of this was new to me. But having gone over it, I can now see how many monsters the Illithid concept must have influenced over time: Star Wars's Quarren, Star Trek's Ceti eels, and from "Doctor Who," both the Ood transformation and the look of the "Human Dalek." I also think, after hearing this, that I can imagine a fantasy countermeasure to ceremorphosis: the Illithids are NOT going to like it . . .

[@SnowWing000]

Tell me.

[@ExplosiveFloofBall]

3 days ago in my campaign the illithid were reborn after having been wiped out the same day this video was released

[@CyanRameron]

Hmmm, honestly, and I don’t like to brag, but I think I could take a mindflayer in a fight, but that’s just me

[@matmil5]

>Grapple >Extract Brain You sure bud?-

[@CyanRameron]

@@matmil5 110%, don’t think it stands a chance, just cause I personally only roll nat 20s

[@mprojekt72]

@@CyanRameron I know a guy who can fix that for you. Just let him breathe on your d20's.

[@nebunezz_r]

​@@matmil5*salt* Yep

[@shiguriyamamo6730]

Ah nothing like 10d10 damage from extract brain.

[@preyasmanthedemopan2854]

You should make a part 2 that covers subjects like the Neothelids, Intellect Devourers, Mind Witnesses, and other Illithid subgroups/experiments!

[@jonesy279]

I love the path this one took. Delicious biomass for the swarm. Do not fear the hive mind.

[@canlex]

There is way too much science for these FANTASY creatures. And I am in love

[@Dalek15]

Awesome, could you do a biology on the Cybermen or the Daleks?

[@Kazini_]

I second this! The Cybermen would be fantastic.

[@sporeham1674]

Dude, Cybermen would be awesome!

[@midgardrson93]

Excellent writing, sir. I love the evolution of the script, how it started as a researcher going about his business and ended as the same reseacher going through the process himself. I greatly enjoyed the video. I'm currently running a D&D campaign and mind flayers are definitly and antaginistic force in it

[@rue...whenwasthis]

i just got into DnD and BG3 this is freaking amazing! You should totally do Litches next! Although, i'd like to see your takes on African were-hyenas, they're not humans who shift into animals, but they are semi-sentient magical hyenas that turn into humans at night!

[@kysergrovijohn4507]

For a sec I thought “do they mean gnolls?” But then I remembered that were-hyenas do in fact exist

[@rue...whenwasthis]

@@kysergrovijohn4507 yeah theyre apart of african culture

[@kysergrovijohn4507]

That's really cool, I'm gonna try and find werehyenas for dnd, cuz that'd be cool

[@DigdougdaGDog]

I plan to use this as a basis for a dnd NPC. A Wizard fascinated with the Illithid mind control and the elder brain.

[@TamTroll]

Hypothesis, the Elder Brain is not at all a part of the Mindflayer species of life cycle. instead, i propose that the Elder Brain is the Mindflayer's apex predator. My Hypothesis is that the Elder Brain is a separate species that developed such powerful psionic abilities, that it was able to introduce itself into a group of Mindflayers and dominate over them, effectively acting like a brood parasite, making them take care of the Elder Brain, raise it, protect it, feed it. The Elder Brain then feeds upon the Mindflayers upon their passing, consuming their consciousness and brainmatter while returning nothing to the colony in return. Think about it, it is never mentioned where the Elder Brain comes from, or if a Mindflayer can somehow become a new Elder Brain. My guess is the Elder Brain has it's own life cycle, where it produces an offspring, and sends it to infiltrate a Mindflayer colony that lacks an Elder Brain, or starts a new colony by sending some of it's own Mindflayers out with it to care for it. The Mindflayers have been so fooled by this trickery, that they don't even realize that they're caring for and worshiping their own parasite.

[@ryan1000011]

Even though we know elder brains come from curtain mindflayers this still makes sense As when an elder brain is ready to reproduce it could just infect a mindflayer in a similar way that they do humanoids 🤔

[@KRAMER2411]

"According to Volothamp Geddarm, ulitharids were also key to the expansion of illithid society, as they are the caste of mind flayers capable of eventually metamorphosing into elder brains; an ulitharid that grew sick of fighting its parent elder brain for power would take a substantial part of the colony to a new area, whereupon its brain would be placed in a new or reclaimed brain pool and be merged with the brains of other illithids to become a larval elder brain, capable of supporting illithid larva and expanding their empire." Ulitharids explain that mind flayers work in a similar way to ants, bees and other Eusocial insects with queens.

[@dalehayden3830]

KZbin won't let me see the replies, but I assume they say you are exactly right. Elder Brains are a separate, parasitic species, and individual Illithid can break free from their influence and become surprisingly intelligent and compassionate.

[@TamTroll]

@@dalehayden3830 yeah i can't see the other replies either, I'm guessing they were deleted or something, idk.

[@nunya_bizniz]

​​@@TamTroll Elder Brains are Ulitharid who become elder brains. Just read the lore so you don't make assumptions. Not a separate species and you don't need to theory craft about their origins since it is clearly laid out in the lore.

[@Nell_Hell]

I love how you narrate the videos, it's like listening to long lost logs of a mad scientists who conducted experiments on creatures in an alternate reality that somehow made ther way in our world

[@josephpostma1787]

You should do videos on Xenomorphs and demons from Demon Slayer. I'd like to see how you explain the Xenomorph's acid blood and the demon's diet of human flesh and blood and their apparent lack of need for sleep.

[@Ace-Of-Spades-And-Clubs]

This is a very good video. I had a few, albeit mild, suspicions that you yourself were a mindflayer. I was just so impressed with your knowledge, silly me!

[@Brother_Red]

Perfect, I'm playing BG3 so this is ideal to listen to

[@BeardyReviews]

This was a delight to watch ❤ I loved how you slowly started saying "our" and saying you understand the brainwaves, etc. beautifully scripted, thank you for this great content 😊

[@aria5614]

The assimilation started pretty early actually. "After an hour it is pointless to resist." My best guess is that in exchange for the knowledge and the privelge of making the documentary, they accepted becoming a host. Or maybe they escaped after becoming a host and hurried to make the documentary before they lost themselves fully.

[@TinkerHat]

i love how you slowly change your way of speaking as you go through the video, slowly showing your true, illithid form has taken hold~

[@alessandrocoppede3066]

I think he willingly infected himself with a tadpole in order to record the transformation in real time

[@comfycat9]

Oh yeah! Happy to see this pop up in my subscriptions. Just the little hit of dopamine I needed to get out of bed, lol.

[@rubenavila1087]

I wasn’t expecting a new Cryptid video so soon. Don’t they take a month usually?

[@ThoughtPotato]

Normally, yes. This one isn’t in the mainline series, just a little excursion. 😊

[@rebeccaa1356]

The way you tell stories is so intersting and visual. You might be one of my favorite youtubers.

[@masterzoroark6664]

Hey that's awesome- I do love the idea of it being information in biology books of a XXI century DnD Fantasy world

[@allknowingfreddybear9291]

I love the scripting and RP. Very well done video, a lot of fun.

[@Kaz7.]

More DnD biology please!!

[@snoopduck26]

I just gotta say, this thumbnail did its job perfectly

[@lcyau5940]

“What Mewing Does To Your Face”

[@Kiiiirraaa]

The fact that I started playing baldurs gate two days ago and this randomly shows up on my recommended…. That’s some creepy shit

[@ambition112]

3:38: 🧠 The video discusses the predatory and complex social behaviors of ilids, focusing on their unique protein sequences, hive-like community structure centered around the Elder brain, and psionic abilities. 6:56: 🐸 Tadpoles undergo ceremorphosis, a horrifying metamorphosis where they are inserted into a host's brain and become adult atchids. 10:19: 🦑 The video discusses the physical transformations undergone by the host when infected by the ID parasite. 13:47: ! The process of ceremorphosis in illithids involves the complete replacement of the host's brain with the illithid's brain, resulting in the eradication of the host's personality and the acquisition of psionic abilities. 17:29: 🧠 Mind flayer biology and their psychic power are believed to be linked to the unique structure and neurotransmitters of their ithd brain. 20:45: 🧠 The Mind Flayer, a creature with specialized neural structures and unique dietary requirements, is the centerpiece of the ilid culture. Recap by Tammy AI

[@_uwucifer_]

absolutely masterful writing! this is a highly underrated work of art

[@Dr.SamuelHayden]

Bro, just do 2 + left click + F

[@mathewsvensson3786]

I know I'm a bit late to the comment party here, but can I just say...your work is freaking superb, like words can't even do it justice. As someone whose always been especially fascinated by the niche genre of fantasy/magic/supernatural but told through a somewhat grounded and scientifically linked angle (the 'magic ' in the video game death stranding as a good example), your videos are a gift from heaven, (or the gooey grace of the eternal elder brain considering the content of this video).

[@MedievalAngryDude]

Mind Flayers are a divine punishment that cleanses the DND multiverse of fantasy cringe

[@AzureSkyCiel]

Then why is the truth of their existence that they keep ending up BTFO'd so hard they go back in time, restart their empire, and fail all over again?

[@MedievalAngryDude]

@@AzureSkyCiel so they can do it again and again. They're like the Cybermen from the Doctor Who series, their superior aesthetic being that they cannot be completely destroyed and embody the inevitable victory of the cephalopods over the humanoid cringe.

[@DerMotze]

This is such an underrated chanel. Always love your videos. Awesome narration and full of in depth information. Friend of mine is running a dnd campaign and all the information will surely get its way into the game

[@pmj0128]

I can appreciate the grand design of this video.